


feel my heart beating

by outofthewoods (wildestdreams)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Clueless (1995) Fusion, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 13:41:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13319355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildestdreams/pseuds/outofthewoods
Summary: ‘90s AU where Louis’ addicted to matchmaking and Harry’s just playing along.





	feel my heart beating

**Author's Note:**

> super big sorry to [thetommo](http://thetommmo.tumblr.com/) for being so late. thank you for your patience. this fic is for you and i hope you like it! 
> 
> thanks to [e](https://taketothesea.tumblr.com/) for being such a fast beta and [aleks](http://ot4vinyl.tumblr.com/) for the edit. also shoutout to [susan](http://dunkirks.tumblr.com/) for organizing the secret santa. x
> 
> [tumblr](http://butyouneverdo.tumblr.com/) / [fic post](http://butyouneverdo.tumblr.com/post/169487044035/fic-feel-my-heart-beating-author-outofthewoods) / [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/123144119/playlist/0zX7EXDrePx0Rhpaj7W1Cn)

There were three minutes left until it was midnight and officially 1990. Louis was nestled between his two best friends, Niall and Liam, on a small, tan couch while his classmates partied and danced around them, celebrating the end of 1989. “Wild Thing” was playing on the stereo and Louis nodded his head along to the funky beat, sipping his beer.

Typically, people liked to set resolutions before the year began, but Louis hadn’t bothered to think about it. In fact, he almost forgot that was a thing until earlier this morning when he saw his younger sister Lottie writing out a long list of things she wanted to change and accomplish this upcoming year. Louis wasn’t interested in that. He wanted things to be exactly the same: 1989 was an excellent year, just like the years prior.

He finished out his junior year of high school at Pine Brook Hill High School with honors and then he started out the first two quarters of his senior year with great marks as well. As for his social life -- Louis didn’t want to brag, but he was probably one of the most popular, if not the most popular, guys around. It all came with a lot of work, but the end result was rewarding.

Louis was a people person. He liked it when they flocked to him, trying to talk to him about anything and everything. He liked being in the know about everyone as well, who they were dating and what they had going on in their lives. It also helped that he was class president for the first three years of high school. This year, he decided to take a break from that so he could focus on his college applications.

“Just a couple more minutes to go,” Niall said, getting restless in his seat. “Can’t wait to kiss my baby at midnight.”

“Reign it in, big boy,” Louis said to him. “Where is Hailee, anyway?”

“She was with her girls out in the porch. I think one of them has some relationship drama.”

Louis hummed, nodding his head as the song changed to “Love Shack.” He turned to Liam. “What about you? Kissing anyone tonight?”

Liam was single, just like Louis, but that shouldn’t be a problem. The party was currently holding the entire PBHHS junior and senior classes, so the possibilities were endless in terms of midnight kiss options. Liam just shrugged in response, eyes lingering on a pretty brunette standing by the fireplace with a red plastic cup in her hand. Which reminded Louis that he should probably refill his drink so he had something to toast to once the clock struck twelve.

He squeezed himself out of his seat, making his way over to the keg and smiling at a few people as he passed by. As he was filling up his cup, he noticed a guy walking through the hall toward the kitchen. His blond hair was shorter than Louis remembered, but that slow walk and green sweater were still the same.

Jonah Davenport and Louis only dated for a few weeks about a year ago, but he was really upset when Louis broke up with him. It just became very hard to maintain. For one, Jonah lived in Greensburg, an hour away, and went to the high school there. Two, the only time they had together was over the weekend, mostly Saturdays, and Jonah would always insist on calling over one of his friends to join them on a movie date or a dinner date. Louis wasn’t just dating Jonah. He was also dating the entire lacrosse team at Greensburg High School.

In the end, Louis let Jonah down quite nicely, telling him that it just wasn’t working out. Jonah didn’t take it too well, though. He begged Louis for a second chance, going as far as getting down on his knees. It was really embarrassing, considering they were at a park where people were watching. The days following the break up, Jonah persistently called Louis, and then Louis had to get a little mean. He told Jonah that if he called one more time, then Louis’ mom would call the police. It was the landline he was calling and Louis lived with three girls who loved talking on the phone, so they were taking it out on Louis to deal with the situation.

It seemed to work and Jonah eventually let it go. Tonight, however, he looked at Louis with a certain gleam in his eye. Full of hopes of second chances and reconnecting, none of which Louis wanted. He had to do something quick for a distraction. And then on cue, everyone started to countdown to the new year. When Louis looked back, Jonah was still heading his way.

Oh God.

Louis put down his cup and turned to the first person that was next to him. Green eyes, brown curls all the way down to the shoulders, and a pair pink lips shaped like a bow. “My ex-boyfriend is coming this way, so can you please kiss me before he does?” Louis whispered, looking at Harry Styles with desperation in his voice.

Harry Styles looked at Louis like he was on crack, which really didn’t differ from the way Harry Styles looked at Louis any other time of day. They went back, even if they weren’t friends. Harry had moved to Pine Brook Hill during freshman year. He was different, which meant that people were either drawn to him or they were annoyed by him. Harry Styles didn’t seem to care which. He was a lone wolf for a few months until he met Zayn Malik and the two became quick friends. They walked around town wearing their grunge clothes and listening to their loud rock music.

It was everything Louis wasn’t. That was why they’d never gotten along and constantly bickered, fought, and got on each other’s nerves. But right now, Louis needed to kiss him. Harry shrugged just as everyone shouted “one,” and his lips were on Louis’, warm and wet. Louis inhaled sharply, startled even though he had asked to be kissed. Within seconds, however, he grabbed hold of Harry’s shoulders, wrapping his arms around him. Harry’s own hand was placed firmly on Louis’ jaw, taking full control of the kiss as he moved his plush and wet lips against Louis’. He tasted like beer and mint, something Louis kind of liked.

They pulled apart for a moment to take a breath until Harry dove in again, this time sliding his tongue in Louis’ mouth. Louis made a small noise in the back of his throat, leaning back on the counter where he’d placed his beer. Harry followed, pressing him against it, and licked into his mouth. While at first Louis was aware of what they were doing, where they were, and the noises surrounding them, it all started to slowly disappear the more Harry kissed him. He couldn’t hear the cheers or the people anymore. Couldn’t register anything except for Harry’s lips on his, which felt better than he wanted to admit.

A few moments later, Harry slowly pulled away. Louis thought about how they just made out at midnight at a New Year’s Eve party and Harry didn’t even properly ask why. He was smirking, looking amused. He was wearing a red flannel, white t-shirt, black jeans, and the dirtiest pair of Doc Martens Louis had ever seen.

“Thanks,” Louis said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked in the direction where Jonah was coming from and saw that the boy was no longer there.

“No problem, I guess,” Harry said. “Honestly, though, next time just tell your ex that you’re done.”

“You don’t think I did?” Louis asked him.

“I think that you’re a bit pathetic.”

Louis gaped at Harry, glaring at him before crossing his arms. “And where do you get off calling me pathetic? You’re the biggest loser in Pine Brook Hill.”

“Is that why you asked to be your midnight kiss?” Harry grinned.

“I asked the first person I saw to kiss me so that my annoying ex-boyfriend wouldn’t get the chance. You just happened to be it.”

Harry hummed. “Likely story. You’re still pathetic, though.”

“And you’re a dick.”

With that, Louis grabbed his beer and walked back to his friends, a frown on his face. He could hear Harry cackling from behind him and it took everything in his power to not turn around and hurl his drink at the curly haired asshole behind him.

☊

Louis’ first period class on the first day back to school was Biology. He felt good as he walked from his locker to the classroom. He was well rested, wearing his favorite blue sweater that brought out his eyes, and had a clean, new notebook. He took his seat up front and center where Niall soon joined him, looking hungover and exhausted. Niall slumped down, resting his head over his desk and closing his eyes.

“Where the fuck were you last night?” Louis asked him, tapping Niall on the head with his pen. “I called you a couple of times.”

“Over at Hailee’s,” Niall mumbled. “Her parents were out so we were hanging out. Decided to raid the liquor cabinet and it got out of hand.”

“Shit,” Louis chuckled. “Did her parents catch you?”

“Nah. When they got home, they came into her room to check on her once and she pretended to be asleep while I hid in the closet. And then I joined her.”

“Gross.”

“Not like that,” Niall whined. “We literally just fell asleep.”

“Right,” Louis rolled his eyes. Niall and Hailee had been dating for nearly a year now and they still had no shame when it came to PDA. Making out in the school halls and holding hands like they were extensions of each other were of the norm around here for them.

The classroom started to fill up as the final bell rang. Harry Styles walked in, making eye contact with Louis for a split second before making his way to the middle row. Louis’ thoughts flashed back to New Year’s and their kiss, followed by their unpleasant exchange. Harry was such an ass.

“Heard you two made out at the New Year’s party,” Niall said, peering up at Louis with mischievous, teasing eyes.

“Yeah, we did, but it wasn’t a big deal,” Louis shrugged. “I saw Jonah --”

“That fucking stalker.”

“-- and I needed someone to make it look like I was preoccupied and Harry was right there,” Louis finished explaining. “Besides...he’s as lame as ever. Nothing’s changed.”

When Mr. Simmons walked in, the class murmurs quieted down and everyone got their books out. As he explained the quarter’s syllabus, he told them about how they were going to be dissecting frogs for their labs and slowly going through its anatomy. “I will be assigning lab partners in alphabetical order,” he went on.

“Fuck,” Niall groaned from beside Louis. They were partners the last two quarters and Louis was the reason why Niall had a passing grade.

Mr. Simmons went through the class roster and Niall ended up paired with Jane Hathaway, who looked much more happy about this than Niall did. He got up from his seat and went over to sit next to Jane, not even bothering to say hello. Louis would have to speak to him about manners.

“Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson,” Mr. Simmons called out.

Louis glanced up, wondering if he just heard the teacher wrong, but then he remembered there were no names in class between Styles and Tomlinson. His new lab partner was glaring at him from his seat. Louis glared back at Harry. This wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t like he was super excited to be Harry’s partner either.

Still, he decided to be the bigger person and walk over to where Harry was sitting. Harry turned away from him, facing forward with his arms crossed. Louis rolled his eyes at that. Harry needed lessons on manners as well. “Honestly,” Louis began as he sat down. “You should be grateful you’re my partner.”

“And why should I be grateful?” Harry asked him, giving him the side eye.

“Because there are tons of people here who would want to be my partner.”

“This is exactly why I don’t want to be your partner, Louis,” Harry said. “You think you’re so important and that everything you do is right. News flash -- you’re not as great as you seem to think you are.”

“Except I am, Styles. And why do you think you’re entitled to say all that to me?” Louis snapped. “You walk around here like you’re so much better than everyone else. The holier-than-thou attitude isn’t attractive in the slightest.”

Before Harry could respond, Mr. Simmons started up lecture once more, cutting off all chatter.

☊

“Liam...your staring is extremely creepy,” Louis informed him, biting into his turkey and cheese sandwich.

Liam startled, cheeks flushing, as he looked down at his tray of cafeteria food. His crush on Sophia Smith, the head cheerleader, was getting more and more obvious as the days went on. While Liam was a star football player and well liked by a ton of pretty girls, he only had eyes for Sophia, who barely knew Liam existed. At the New Year’s party, Liam wasn’t even able to say hello and strike up a conversation, let alone kiss her at midnight. He’d sat on that tan couch, just admiring the girl from a distance. It was pathetic and sad.

Louis had to do something about this and help out his best friend. He had a penchant for matchmaking. Romance and relationships were Louis’ forte. He had been studying them since he was a little boy, watching romance films with his mom when it was just the two of them in their two bedroom apartment a few towns over in Glendale. He was first faced with the prospect of matchmaking when he saw his mom smiling at Mark at the coffee shop while he handed over her coffee in the same way that Louis could only describe as the way Diane and Lloyd smiled at each other in _Say Anything_.

Only problem was that his mom was _always_ working. She never had time to talk to Mark for more than a few minutes in the morning when picking up her coffee with Louis in tow right before she dropped him off to school. But Louis knew his mom hadn’t been on a date in years and everybody needed a little love in their life. So he started waking up earlier, wanting waffles from the coffee shop to eat for breakfast so that they could go earlier and take their time. As time went on, his mom and Mark got to know each other and now, seven years later, they were married and happily together with two additional babies. After that, Louis found the rush of bringing people together insatiable.

After lunch, Louis speed walked toward Sophia’s locker, which was thankfully next to his Calculus class. She got there only a minute later, smiling upon seeing him. “Hey, Louis!” she greeted him.

“Hi Soph. How’s it going?” he asked.

“Hanging in there,” she replied. “Did you get started on the English assignment for _A Streetcar Named Desire_?”

“I did, yeah. It’s not too bad.”

“You might need to help me out then,” Sophia laughed. She opened her locker, switching out her books.

“Yeah, sure. Have you not been having the time?” Louis inquired.

“Not a lot. I started a new job. I’ve been working at the library on Port Street,” she explained. “I try to do some homework then, but I get distracted pretty easily.”

Louis’ eyebrows perked up at that piece of information. “Oh wow. How is that going?”

“It’s pretty fun. Does get boring, though, at times.”

“I’m sure it’ll get better,” Louis said, his brain already putting together a plan for Liam.

☊

The third week back at school, Louis’ Biology class delved right into the dissection of their frogs. The first two weeks were spent prepping -- they relearned safety procedures and rules and worked on worksheets and packets that went over the material for the rest of the course. Louis was fine with all of that that until he got a good look at the frog sitting on his and Harry’s shared desk in the Biology lab room.

For some reason, he was shocked that it was an _actual_ frog -- dead and lying there on a cold, metal tray with its limbs all spread out with pins. Plus, it _smelled_! It had an awful stench that bothered Louis to the point of nausea. Louis covered his nose and mouth, sitting as far away from the frog as possible. He was nearly at the edge of the desk, his chair in the middle of the aisle.

Harry watched him under judgemental and somewhat amused eyes. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Louis responded quickly and defensively.

“Why are you sitting so far away?”

“Maybe because I don’t want to be near you?” Louis suggested.

“I don’t know,” Harry shrugged. “I mean, maybe? But that wasn’t an issue the past two weeks. It seems like it’s something else.”

Louis didn’t respond to Harry, taking a quick glance at the frog again. It was still dead and the smell was starting to drift all around him. His breakfast was dangerously close to coming back up. He covered his nose again, turning away from the frog and Harry.

That was when Harry started laughing. “Are you scared of the frog, Louis?”

“Of course, not,” Louis retorted. “It’s a dead frog. I’m not scared of it. I’m just...disgusted.”

“You’re disgusted,” Harry repeated, “Do you realize this frog is clean? What is it that you’re scared of? What’s bothering you?”

“I don’t know, Harry!” Louis said, feeling aggravated. “I don’t want to touch it when all of its things are just hanging out.”

“So, what do you think? I’m going to be doing all your work for you while you get the grade?”

“You’ll be getting the grade, too, asshole.”

“Nope. I’m not doing the work on my own.” He pushed the tray closer to Louis, who shoved it back. Harry pushed it toward him again, and this time when Louis tried to return it, the tray fell off the desk, landing on the floor with a loud clatter. The whole class quieted down and Louis heard the plop of the frog landing on the tiled floor.

“Crap,” Louis mumbled to himself.

“Are you serious?” Harry yelled at him. “You just dropped our entire project on the ground!”

“You were the one pushing it on me!” Louis yelled back.

“Yes, so we could work on it! I knew partnering with you would be the worst thing ever and I was right.”

“Get off your high horse. You can’t place all the blame on me,” Louis argued with him.

“I will because you pushed our frog!”

“ _Enough_!” Mr. Simmons intercepted, standing behind their chairs. “This is absolutely unacceptable. I want you both to leave my classroom right this instant.”

He was loud and clear, and neither Louis or Harry argued as they scrambled to get their belongings and leave the classroom. Outside, in the hallway, it was quiet, only the murmurs of lectures drifting from different classrooms. Harry looked furious beside Louis and Louis was irritated as well. It was his grade on the line, too. Their dead frog was on the floor, gross and probably all out of sorts now, and Mr. Simmons was mad at them.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Harry said, peering over at Louis.

“Shut up,” Louis groaned. “I’m over arguing with you.”

“And I’m over being your partner,” Harry declared, throwing his hands up and walking the other way.

God, he made Louis _so_ mad. Harry had no reason to dislike Louis so much. He had no right to talk to him like that. But fine. If that was how Harry wanted to play with Louis, he had another thing coming for him.

☊

“Louis, do we really have to do this?”

“Shut up, Liam!”

Louis hauled out the mega pack of Charmin toilet paper from the back of Mrs. Payne’s Toyota van. She let Liam borrow it sometimes, and tonight, Louis was in need. He called up Niall and Liam as soon as school let out to tell them to pick him up from his house around 11 so that they could make a trip to Target and buy the biggest pack of toilet paper they had. Then, they went to Harry’s house. Liam, of course, had a million questions while Niall had none. It spoke volumes about their dynamic.

It wasn’t crazy late, but still the lights in Harry’s house were dim. Perfect. Louis couldn’t help but grin mischievously as he ripped open the bag of toilet paper, the rolls tumbling onto the grass and all over Harry’s lawn.

“Alright, boys,” Louis whispered, grabbing a roll and taking off the wrapper. “Grab one and go ham.”

For the next ten minutes, the three of them covered Harry’s one story house with toilet paper, letting out giggles and quiet laughter. Even though it was freezing, Louis was having so much. Revenge was sweet; he couldn’t wait to see Harry’s reaction to this. There was a good chance he’d figure out who it was -  it wasn’t like Harry had a lot of enemies. But Louis wanted him to know so that Harry knew who he was dealing with.

Louis was doing good work on the porch, throwing toilet paper left and right when suddenly the light at the front door turned on. Instead of bolting and warning the boys, Louis completely froze. Getting caught was not a part of Louis’ plan. He didn’t think ahead to make an escape plan. Louis expected Harry as the door opened, but instead a woman walked out.

Right away, Louis knew it was Harry’s mom. They hadn’t ever met, but she looked like Harry as a middle-aged woman. They had the same deep brown hair and fierce, green eyes. And, boy, were her eyes _fierce_. She was fuming as she looked around at what Louis and his friends had done before pinning him down with a glare.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

Louis had no response. He was too shook to even move.

“Mom?” he heard from inside the house and then Harry came out, dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. He looked tired, rubbing sleep from his eyes. When he saw Louis, his eyes widened, looking confused. “Louis?”

“You know this boy?” his mom asked, crossing her arms. Even with a pale pink sleep robe on, she looked menacing. This lady screamed authority.

Harry took a deep breath, nodding his head. “Yeah, he goes to my school.”

“Well he’s trespassing and destroying private property,” Mrs. Styles explained, gesturing around to the toilet paper everywhere. The first thought Louis had was that it wasn’t only him - he dragged his best friends out here. But then he realized he hadn’t seen them in a minute. Where were they? Louis quickly took a peek and couldn’t spot them -- not even Liam’s car. So they bolted, leaving him stranded.

The fucking betrayal.

It hurt. But Louis was just going to have to deal with it tomorrow. For now, he had Harry’s mom eyeing him down and Harry, looking tired and, frankly, a little cute. Louis had always thought Harry was pretty good looking (okay, _a lot_ good looking), but right now, he looked really good. Maybe it was the pajamas and the sleep rumpled face, but it was doing it for Louis. He was digging it.

“Is there a reason why you’re doing this?” she asked. “Either way, I’m definitely going to be taking you to the station.”

“The station?” Louis squeaked.

“Didn’t you know?” Harry asked, smirking. “My mom’s a cop.”

Oh, _fuck_! _Fuck_. Louis really _fucked_ the _fuck_ up.

He just teepeed a cop’s house all in the name of petty revenge. He was _done_. If he got arrested for this, it was going on his permanent record and everything he’d worked for all these years was going to waste. No colleges would accept him. His future was completely, absolutely ruined. How could he have messed up this badly?

“I’m waiting,” Mrs. Styles prompted him, referring to her previous question.

“Harry’s my ex,” Louis quickly blurted out.

 _His ex_?!

“What?” Harry and his mom both exclaimed.

His ex. Yeah. Louis had really just said that. He didn’t know why he said it. But he was going to go with it. “Yeah,” Louis continued his fibbing, “Harry and I were dating for a while and he broke up with me today. Broke my damn heart, if I’m being honest with you. I was upset so I decided to take revenge.”

Harry was gaping at Louis, his jaw hanging low, while his mom had her eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline. He prayed to God that he sounded believable.

Rather than question Louis, Mrs. Styles turned to Harry. “Is that true, Harry?”

Harry remembered to pick his jaw up, licking his dry lips, and then slowly nodded. “Yeah, Mom. This is my ex-boyfriend, Louis.”

This seemed to surprise Mrs. Styles even more, but not more than Louis. His jaw nearly dropped as well and then he remembered that he had to _not_ act surprised. He had to keep playing along. “I’m really sorry,” Louis quickly went on to say. “I realize now how stupid this was. I was just so _heartbroken_. I promise, I will clean this up. Just please— please don’t take me to the station and arrest me.”

His apology seemed to appease Mrs. Styles. She nodded primly. “I better not find one piece of toilet paper anywhere near my property. And next time, channel your heartbreak into something more creative than this.”

“I agree,” Harry added.

Louis nearly glared at him. “I guess it was a bit unoriginal,” he admitted.

Mrs. Styles gave him one last calculating look before walking past Harry and back inside the house, leaving Harry and Louis alone. They both looked at each other and Louis didn’t know where to start. Should he thank him for playing along? Or laugh about karma and revenge being sweet? It wasn’t really sweet, though. Louis went through all this trouble, got caught, and now he had to clean it up himself as well. Even his dumb friends left him. So who was the biggest joke here? Who really got bit in the ass by karma?

Harry seemed to realize all of this as well. He gave Louis a saccharine smile. “Have fun cleaning this up while I go back to sleep in my warm bed. Night, babe,” Harry waved, walking back inside before stopping and turning around, “Oh, and sorry for breaking your heart earlier.” With that, he shut the front door closed behind him.

Bastard.

☊

Somewhere between cleaning up all the toilet paper and then angrily calling Liam to bring his fucking car back to pick Louis up so that he could go home, Louis had a long hard think about what just happened.

For one, he had a narrow escape from jail. Two, he made up something ridiculous just to get out of trouble and his sworn enemy actually helped him. What did all this mean? That Louis was insane or that possibly, _maybe_ Harry wasn’t a completely horrible person? Louis wasn’t sure, but something else that popped up amongst all these muddled and overwhelming thoughts was his Biology grade.

Louis was on his way to being valedictorian and he didn’t want to ruin his streak of A’s any more than Harry did. The two of them were already on thin ice with Mr. Simmons, so asking to change partners or working alone might only piss off their teacher more. While Louis still wasn’t happy with Harry, despite Harry coming to his rescue, Louis was willing to be the bigger person so that they could survive the rest of the school year and get A’s.

The following school day, Louis arrived earlier than usual and made his way over to Harry’s locker. He didn’t get much sleep last night since he got home late, but he had no one to blame but himself. Harry arrived only two minutes before the bell was meant to ring and already Louis was irritated. He was about to be late to class because of this asshole. Harry looked confused upon seeing Louis standing by his locker and he approached him hesitantly.

“Can I help you?” Harry asked.

“Good morning, Harry. Nice to see you, too,” Louis greeted.

“Right,” Harry mumbled before opening his locker and grabbing a spiral notebook. He shut the locker and looked at Louis expectantly. “I assume you came to apologize.”

“Apologize?” Louis was confused. He didn’t have an apology in his plan. He just wanted to let Harry know that they needed to get over their grudge and get to work.

“Yeah, for teepeeing my house and ruining our lab report.”

Louis fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I came over to tell you that I’m really serious about my studies. I want to properly work as partners and make sure that what happened in lab last time won’t happen again. Can we do that?”

Harry blinked, licking his lips as he leaned against his locker. “Yeah, sure,” he agreed easily. Louis widened his eyes, surprised at how quickly he agreed. Harry’s lips quirked into a small, amused smile and he leaned away from the locker, walking past Louis toward class, which reminded Louis that he was late. He quickly headed down the hall, slipping in between some students to get to his English class.

☊

It was decided after that day’s Biology class that Harry and Louis would make a trip to the library and work on their next lab report. Neither had offered up their houses as a spot to study, so the library was the next best option. Not that Louis was surprised. Just because they agreed to be civil with each other didn’t mean they were suddenly friends who went over to each other’s houses and hung out. This was strictly business.

After school, they made the short trek to Pine Brook Hill Public Library, finding a nice, big empty table near the back where they laid out their notes. Since they never finished their lab the day before, they were going to have to do extra research to find answers to their questions. They went right to work, flipping through their books and trying to figure it all out.

An hour into their study session, Louis noticed Liam walk in, looking freshly showered. He must have just gotten out of the gym. During off season, all football players were expected to work out and keep up their shape for the upcoming season. Because it was a library and Louis couldn’t just shout for Liam, he obnoxiously waved. He was very aware of Harry looking at him from across the table like he’d just grown four heads. Fortunately, Liam spotted him, grinning as he walked over.

“Hey, Lou. Hi Harry,” Liam greeted. “What’s up?”

“Doing a lab report,” Louis answered. “Are you here because of why I think you’re here?” Before Liam could answer, Louis shook his head. “Don’t even reply to that. Of course you are. Why else would you come to the library? Surely not to read.”

Liam looked sheepish, smiling chummily as he rocked from one feet to the other. “It’s been going great, by the way. Soph and I’ve been vibing.”

“Oh, is it _Soph_ now?” Louis asked, teasingly. “Are we at nickname basis already?”

“Yeah,” Liam nodded. “I’m in so deep, Lou. I hope this works out.”

“Of course it will! Now go and make love between the bookshelves. Bye!” He waved and Liam scampered over to the information desk. When Louis faced Harry again, he saw the other boy was looking at him, eyes curious and clearly wanting to know what that was all about. “Liam’s got a crush on Sophia Smith.”

“Oh,” Harry said, glancing over at the pair. Liam was currently leaning against the information desk, chatting Sophia up. She was batting her eyelashes and practically purring from behind the desk where she was working.

“I’m helping him,” Louis explained.

“How?”

“Well, I was the one who found out about Sophia working here. She didn’t even know Liam existed until he started showing up here and talking to her. I gave him a push.”

“That’s pretty nice of you,” Harry commented.

Louis shrugged, trying to appear humble, though he was eating up the compliment. “I’m a matchmaker. Not a big deal.”

“A matchmaker?”

“Yes. I’ve matchmaked tons of couples.”

Harry appeared wary. “Like who?”

“Niall and Hailee. I had him write her love notes and drop them in her locker. She loved it and now they’re in love and in a committed relationship.”

“No kidding,” Harry said. “That’s pretty cool and impressive.”

Louis preened under Harry’s compliments. “It’s no biggie. Just call me Cupid.” He glanced over at Liam again, being met by the sight of Liam and Sophia giggling over something Liam said. They were going to be together in no time. The two of them were perfect for each other and Louis was glad he was able to finally do something to help.

☊

“Sophia got fired.”

Liam slumped down in the cafeteria chair beside Louis, looking devastated, lips downturned. “What?” Louis asked. “Why?”

“Because of me!” Liam told him, frustration seeping through his tone.

“What did you do? I mean, last time I saw you there, it looked fine! It looked more than fine.” Louis quickly glanced over at Harry, who was in the middle of writing out a long passage for their next lab report. It had been a little over a week since they’d started actually working together and it was going quite well. Believe it or not, but they were actually enjoying each other’s company and getting good grades for Biology.

Harry looked up at Louis and nodded over towards Liam. “You can take care of him, I’ve got the report.”

They both had wanted to get a head start on their next report, so they took to working during lunch. Their last lab class went better than the one previous, so answering these new questions were a lot easier. Louis brought his attention back to Liam, who looked miserable. “Okay,” Louis said. “What happened?”

“I was hanging around the library too much,” Liam admitted. “It got to the point where her boss came over and told her it was unacceptable and getting in the way. So they fired her and she’s furious with me. Told me that I ruined her chances of getting this new discman she was saving up for.”

“Oh fuck,” Louis breathed. “Well, how often were you going?”

“At least once a day.”

“Liam...I didn’t tell you to go everyday.”

“In a way you did,” Hailee said, suddenly appearing at the table. Niall was not too far behind, eating a sandwich as he followed his girlfriend. “Liam told me what happened and you really egged him on, Lou. Not cool.”

“I supported him!” Louis retorted. “I was being a good friend.”

“Your intentions were good, I believe you,” Hailee added. “But clearly you should take this as a sign to butt out.”

“Butt out? If I butted out, you and Niall would have never been together,” Louis pointed out.

Niall winked over at him, pounding his chest and pointing his fist toward Louis in a form of solidarity and gratefulness. Hailee was becoming a big know-it-all after joining the a capella group in their school. That group was always too cocky for their own good and now Hailee was acting that way. She ignored Niall’s motion and crossed her arms over her chest, her brown curls framing her soft face.

“You mean when you had Niall plagiarize Savage Garden lyrics as his own poetry and write them in little love notes to me?” Hailee asked Louis.

Crap. She had Louis there. But in his defense, Niall was not romantic nor was he poetic. They had to write something good otherwise Hailee would have never given him a shot. “You can call me out all you want, but my method worked. You’ve been dating a year. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Yes, because I liked Niall from before the notes,” Hailee said. “I’m just saying, you shouldn't meddle too much, Lou. When was the last time you focused on your own love life rather than someone else's? When was the last time you had a date?”

Louis couldn’t even remember, but he didn’t want to admit that in front of Hailee. She was chewing him out so hard and he needed to save face. He saw that Niall was still busy with his sandwich, but he was clearly listening to the conversation. Liam was pouting, looking like a child who was in the middle of his parents having a fight. And Harry -- Harry was watching all of them in silence. He looked amused, which made it easy for Louis to say the next thing.

“I was on a date last night,” Louis said easily.

Hailee raised her eyebrows. “With who?”

“Harry,” Louis replied.

All eyes turned toward the boy in question. He was looking relaxed all this time, watching the drama unfold around him, but now he looked like a deer caught in headlights. “You went on a date with Louis?” Hailee asked. Harry could have left Louis hanging, could have been afraid to have people think he was gay, but Harry just nodded like he didn’t even have to think about it.

“Yeah, we went to the diner. The one next to the movie theater,” Harry told her. “It was fun. They played Elvis Presley and The Bangles all night.”

“Yes,” Louis said quickly. “I think ‘Eternal Flame’ is probably our song, even.”

“Even though that song is cheesier than pizza,” Harry added.

“Oh,” Hailee mumbled, looking caught out.

Ha! That would show her. Louis smiled at her, smug and confident. “I do have my love life covered, Hails. And I’m going to fix things for Liam, too.”

She sighed, defeated. Niall pulled her into another conversation and Louis turned back to Harry. Their eyes met over their books and something shifted. Maybe something first changed the night Harry saved Louis from getting arrested, but Louis knew now that Harry really had his back. Why? He wasn’t sure. But it was quickly turning into their thing.

☊

Pine Brook Hill Cinema had a weekly drive in event where they put up a projector in the big parking lot, leaving plenty of space for cars and vans of towners to come in and get comfortable for the show. This week they were showing _Edward Scissorhands_ and Louis showed up with Liam, Niall, and Hailee. Liam offered to drive them all in his mom’s van, parking it sideways. While Niall and Hailee cozied up on the hood of the car, Liam took the middle of the van, propping the door open and looking pathetic and alone as he watched the previews on the screen.

Louis felt bad, mostly because this was his fault. He was sure that once he got Liam and Sophia talking, the rest would fall into place. Liam said some dumb shit now and then, but he was a good person. Surely anyone would fall for that once they got to know him. It sounded like Sophia was on that track, but maybe showing up at her place of employment so often wasn’t the brightest idea. At least not one of Louis’.

Feeling dejected, Louis decided to skip out on the previews and get some food. He was perched on the passenger seat, feet dangling out the door. Glancing around at his two friends, he found that neither were in the mood to discuss movie snacks. Liam looked lost in thought and Niall had his tongue in Hailee’s mouth. Louis would have to take a wild guess as to what they wanted.

Hopping out of his seat, Louis walked over to the long line at the concession stand. The choices were between popcorn, nachos, a variety of candy and soda. Louis figured he could take the time while he waited to figure out what to order. He was standing behind a guy much taller than him. Upon a closer look, he realized it was Harry. Louis put a hand on his arm.

Harry glanced back and raised his eyebrows in greeting. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Louis replied back, “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”

“Last minute decision once I found out what they were showing. I love this movie,” Harry said. “Who’d you come with?”

“The boys and Hailee,” Louis responded.

“They still giving you a hard time?” Harry inquired, moving forward in line.

Louis shook his head. “No, not since the library. Although, Liam seems really upset and I don’t know how long I can watch him pout. I feel awful.”

“Your intentions were good,” Harry reminded him. “I’m sure Liam isn’t holding it over your head either, because otherwise he wouldn’t be hanging out with you, would he?”

When Harry put it that way, Louis couldn’t argue. When he meddled in to matchmake Liam and Sophia, he’d done it with the intention of the two falling in love and getting together. Not for Sophia to get fired and Liam to be heartbroken. And like Harry said, Liam wasn’t angry with him. When Liam got angry, he verbalized, insistent on talking things out.

For the first time that night, Louis smiled, looking up at Harry, who was watching him with a small smile of his own. He was wearing another flannel tonight - black and white buffalo check. His brown locks hung loose, soft and curly around his shoulders. Louis wanted to touch and run his fingers through them.

Louis couldn’t believe they were at this point. At first, they only got together to work on their Biology homework, but now Louis was confiding in Harry and Harry was there for him. Then again, Harry had been there for Louis a number of times now.

Someone cleared their throat and Louis blinked, completely startled. He looked to Harry’s side to see Zayn standing there. How did Louis completely miss him? He zoned out for a few seconds. It seemed Harry did as well because he had that wild eyed, confused look on his face as well. Were they having a _moment_?

Louis snapped out of it and waved at Zayn. Zayn waved back, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and turned to Harry. “Gigi’s here,” he said.

“Gigi Hadid?” Harry asked. “That cheerleader who walks kind of funny?”

Zayn smacked Harry across the chest. “Don’t be rude. She’s nice and pretty and that’s all that matters.”

Harry whistled lowly. “Sounds like you’re balls deep in love.”

“Not really,” Zayn shrugged, “Just think she’s cool. We spoke a few times after football games. She always says hi to me.”

Louis, not being able to help himself from eavesdropping, leaned in, “What’s stopping you from making a move, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Both Harry and Zayn glanced down at Louis, like they’d forgotten he was there for a minute -- which, _rude_. “I’m pretty sure she has a boyfriend,” Zayn informed Louis, “I’ve heard things here and there, but never confirmed, so I just sort of go with it if she ever talks to me or whatever.”

“That’s stupid,” Louis concluded, crossing his arms. “You must at least want to be sure of it since you like her. I think you should go up to her and flirt with her. If she tells you she’s got a boyfriend, then fine, whatever. But what if she tells you she doesn’t? Then you can thank me.”

He was doing it again -- matchmaking -- but what can Louis say? He was addicted. He wasn’t bad at it like Hailee said. The thing with Liam was a mishap that can be fixed. He would make sure of it, even.

Zayn, however, didn’t have the same faith in Louis. He looked skeptical and a little bit annoyed that Louis was butting in from the look on his face. But matchmaking came with a little meddling and Louis was used to being looked at that way. When he glanced over at Harry, he saw that Harry had a small, amused quirk to his lips, but wasn’t saying anything.

“I don’t think I’m going to do that, dude,” Zayn said. Louis expected that.

“I expected you’d say that,” Louis said. “But what do you have to lose?”

“Not looking like a moron when she tells me she has a boyfriend. I’ve heard it from a few really good sources.”

“But not from her, right?”

“Well, no, but that’s only because we have never gone past hello. If she has a boyfriend, she’s never going to greet me, like, hey I have a boyfriend.”

“You felt a spark, though?”

Zayn shrugged, looking more and more worn down by Louis’ persistence. “A little, yeah.”

“Go off of that. If she has a man, she wouldn’t be out here having sparks with other guys,” Louis said confidently.

“What if you have sparks with multiple people, even if you are with someone else?” Harry questioned Louis, deciding to speak up for the first time during this exchange. “I mean, you can’t help attraction. It’s human nature.”

Louis didn’t want to agree with Harry, though he had a point. He was trying psych Zayn up enough to take the plunge. It seemed to be working because Zayn was biting his lip, looking conflicted. Louis went in for the final push.

”You said she’s here?” he asked, “Gigi?”

Zayn nodded his head, gesturing over to a red Volkswagon where Gigi was sitting on the hood of her car, alone. She was still in her cheerleading uniform, hair in pigtails and matching ribbons.

“Go for it, Zayn. At least you can say you tried. Besides, if she says hi to you at school then I’m sure if you go up to her now, she won’t be, like, annoyed that you’re trying to talk to her.”

A flicker of what looked like hope passed across Zayn’s face as he stared at Louis in disbelief. Louis smiled, feeling rather good about himself. Zayn straightened his shoulders and walked toward Gigi’s car, leaving Harry and Louis behind on the concession stand line.

“Wow,” Harry exhaled.

“What? Actually shocked he went over there?” Louis asked him, looking up at the curly haired boy through his lashes.

“I am, yeah,” Harry chuckled. “Let’s see how this pans out.”

The two of them watched as Zayn walked over to Gigi, saying something before taking a seat beside her on the hood of her car. It looked to be going well just as the line continued to move forward. They each got a variety of snacks -- Louis, 3 popcorns and sodas, and Harry, nachos and a water bottle. Walking back to their respective cars, they passed by Gigi’s and saw a big football player, still in his uniform, having an uncomfortable chat with a possessive hand around Gigi’s waist while Zayn slowly inched away from them. He looked out of place in his black jeans and leather jacket.

So she had a boyfriend after all.

Fuck. Louis really was losing his cupid touch. He turned away and found Harry looking his way as well. “Can you please tell Zayn I’m sorry?” he asked.

Harry gave him a meek smile. “Sure, Lou.” The nickname threw Louis off a bit, but he liked it. He smiled to himself, looking down at the ground as they continued to walk, until Harry nudged his shoulder with his own. “Let me ask you something -- why do you insist on playing matchmaker when more times than not, it doesn’t work out?”

Louis wanted to tell him, explain how he was a secret, hopeless romantic that wanted to see love blossom all around him, but was too scared to have it himself because while he could control everyone else’s feelings and actions, he couldn’t control his own. Maybe he would tell Harry one day, but not tonight. A movie was about to begin and if he was honest, he had more pressing questions for the other boy to answer instead.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me why you’re always there to play along with my antics,” Louis challenged, still smiling as he remembered all the times Harry went with whatever dumb shit Louis had cooking. Making out at a party when his ex was coming his way, pretending to be his ex-boyfriend in front of his mom when Louis got caught teepeeing their house, and acting like they’d gone on dates just to get Hailee off his back.

It didn’t seem like Harry hated him all that much anymore. Maybe he actually, kind of liked Louis.

Harry mirrored Louis’ expression, a tinge of pink on the apples of his cheeks. “Want to sit with me for the movie? I think Zayn left.”

“Sure,” Louis said without a second thought, “Let’s stop by my car so I can give the boys their food.”

Harry’s car was a beat up yellow pick up truck. He had parked it backward to open the back bed where there was a mattress and blanket. Louis wondered if Harry ever slept on it...or slept on it with someone else. Before his mind could wander too far, Harry jumped up on the truck bed and patted the spot next to him for Louis to join. Louis placed his snacks on the side before hauling himself up far less smoothly as Harry had. The opening credits started to play and Louis felt something soft around his shoulders. He glanced over and saw Harry’d put a blanket around them, closing in their body heat together. Harry’s eyes were trained on the screen and Louis started to smile again.

It was mostly quiet after that, everyone focused on the movie playing, but Louis couldn’t help sneaking glances at Harry. Louis kept smiling, watching Harry for absolutely no reason. He’d never met anyone that made him do that — smile for no reason. Halfway through the film, just to be a nuisance, he elbowed Harry to get his attention. Harry looked at him, brows furrowed in question.

“You sort of look like Edward Scissorhands,” Louis whispered to him.

“Oh, shut up,” Harry rolled his eyes with a smirk on his face.

☊

The library was quiet, just the sound of murmuring from the information desk, pages turning, and pens scribbling. It should be calming, but Louis was wired up. He had one of Liam’s energy drinks before coming over since he was thirsty and that was all that Liam could offer him. In front of Louis, Harry sat perfectly still, working on a problem set from their lab report. Louis was supposed to be working on the other set, but he couldn’t stop jiggling his leg or looking around to see what everyone was doing.  

At this point, he and Harry were friends. They no longer glared at each other, fought, or played pranks on each other. In fact, they had lunch a few times a week and talked about things other than Biology when they met up for assignments and reports. It didn’t take long for Louis to figure out that Harry was kind of cool. He listened to a lot of music, liked Rocky Road ice cream, and never knew his dad. Louis told him he loved romantic comedies, mint chocolate chip ice cream, and never knew his dad either.

All of this started since the drive in movie where Harry and Louis exchanged body heat under one blanket while watching Edward Scissorhands. That night was a little weird for Louis. He kept feeling something for Harry and didn’t want to think about why. He didn’t want to entertain the idea at all because he still had so much to learn about the other boy. For one, did he even like boys? Louis couldn’t tell. In all four years that he’d known him, he’d never once seen Harry with anyone in that way. Not a boy or a girl.

“Has Zayn forgiven me for that night?” Louis asked Harry.

Harry peered up at Louis through his lashes. “Yeah, he said it was fine. Apparently Gigi came over to him at school the next day and apologized for that dick boyfriend she has. They had a chill conversation and I think Zayn still likes her, but he also thinks she might like him back. Can’t do anything about it now, though, with the other guy in the picture.”

“Oh, wow,” Louis replied.

Harry hummed in agreement. “What ever happened with Liam and Sophia?”

“I told him to buy her some flowers to apologize and ask her out. Even helped him craft the note with the bouquet and now they have a date for this weekend.”

“Fuck,” Harry smiled, flashing his dimples, “So, it worked.”

“Of course it did. It’s _me_. Sure, I had some poor ideas the past couple of days, but I had to redeem myself.”

“Of course,” Harry added, indulging Louis.

“Anyway, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you like anyone?” Louis asked slowly.

A crease formed between Harry’s brows. “Nah. Not really.”

“Not ever? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with anyone now that I think about it.” Was Louis being too obvious in his line of questioning? He wasn’t sure. He was a nosy person though. He needed answers and he needed them now.

Harry shrugged, infuriatingly silent and mysterious.

So Louis decided to push. “Come on. You must think someone is cute.”

“I guess so.” Another shrug.

“Who do you think is cute?”

“What did you get for that problem?” Harry pointed to a question on Louis’ paper. “It’s related to this answer so I want to make sure they match.”

Louis grabbed Harry’s hand to still him and make him look him in the eye. It worked. Harry’s green, green eyes looked into Louis’ blue, blue ones and there it was again. That spark, that moment that Louis felt back at the drive in movie. He wondered if he was the only one. “Tell me who you think is cute.”

Harry struggled to answer him for a moment. Mouth opening and closing a few times until he finally looked away, glancing toward the door. Stacy Hannon had just walked in to the library. “Um, Stacy Hannon is pretty cute. She’s in my French class.”

Immediately Louis let go of Harry’s hand. Harry liked girls and that was so _inappropriate_. Louis cleared his throat and smiled, despite not wanting to at all. “Stacy Hannon is very pretty. We used to obsess over _Say Anything_ together in Algebra last year.”

“That’s nice,” Harry said, returning back to the problem set in front of him.

“I can help you,” Louis continued. “Let me help you get with her. She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“Lou, it’s really not necessary,” Harry said, laughing. “I spoke to her only a handful of times. She and I are cool, it’s fine.”

“C’mon! Just let me do this,” Louis said, pushing again. He wasn’t sure why he was trying so hard. Maybe because he wanted to come to terms with how much he hated the fact that Harry found her pretty and needed to let it go because it clearly could never happen between them.

Harry sighed, looking defeated as he slumped back in his chair. “ _Fine._ ”

“Perfect,” Louis said, “Maybe we could go to my house after?”

Louis held his breath, waiting for Harry’s answer. They still hadn’t gone to each other’s houses yet, the one line in their friendship they hadn’t crossed yet. While Harry looked surprised by the question, he nodded easily, and they went back to work.

☊

When Harry and Louis got to Louis’ house, it was pretty empty. Louis’ mom and Dan were both at work. Fizzy was watching Nickelodeon while Lottie was on the phone with a friend. The two boys said hi to them before making their way up to Louis’ room. It was slightly messy so Louis did his best in tidying up so that he could make some space for Harry to sit. Harry, for the most part, just stood in front of the doorway and looked around.

“So Stacy Hannon,” Louis said. “She likes rom coms like me and we both used to gush about John Cusack’s character looking as good as he did, holding up that boombox in _Say Anything_. That’s actually my favorite movie.”

“Yeah?” Harry grinned, finally moving away from the door and walking over to Louis’ bed. He plopped down, getting comfortable. “Out of all the rom coms out there?”

“Absolutely,” Louis said without missing a beat. “If I could have someone like John Cusack, holding up a boombox outside my window while “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel played, I would marry that person.”

“It is really romantic,” Harry nodded.

“Which is why you’ll do that for Stacy tonight,” Louis told Harry.

Harry raised his eyebrows. “You think I want to marry Stacy?”

“No, but it’s a sure way to let her know you like her.”

“I never said I lik --”

“Harry,” Louis interrupted. “Let me take over from here.”

Harry closed his mouth and didn’t protest anymore. He just laid back on Louis’ bed while Louis ran to the bathroom to grab a few hair products. When he got back, he worked on Harry’s hair by combing it back and then tying it up into a bun. After Louis was done, he stood in front of Harry, eyes wide. He looked _so_ dreamy. With the hair out of his face, all of Harry’s features stood out and Louis was mesmerized. Like the sharp cut of his jawline, the slope of his nose, the pink shade over his cheekbones, and the brightness in his eyes. Louis could go on and on. After admiring his work, Louis had Harry take off his leather jacket and flannel and replaced it with Dan’s tan trench coat to match Lloyd’s character.

Louis pulled Harry over to his mirror and stood beside him. “Excellent,” Louis smiled. When he met Harry’s eyes in the mirror, he found him already looking back at him. Another _moment_ , making Louis rethink everything. In that moment, Harry was the nicest thing Louis had ever seen, and he figured he wouldn’t mind seeing him for the rest of his life if he had the opportunity. When their gaze broke, he shook himself out of it. He needed to stay _focused_. Harry was his friend and Louis wanted to help him. He also needed to get over it.

The two of them headed out again, grabbing Louis’ boombox on the way, and drove over to Stacy’s house. Since Louis had gone over once to watch _Say Anything_ with her, he knew where her window was. Fortunately for them, the window was open and the lights were on, meaning she was up. While Louis got the boombox out and put the Peter Gabriel casette in, Harry stayed in his pickup truck, looking unsure and a bit put off.

“What’s up?” Louis asked as he carefully placed the boombox on the hood of the truck. “Are you having cold feet?”

“No, I just feel stupid,” Harry said.

“You’re not stupid. This is so romantic, Harry. I promise you, she’ll love it.”

Harry whined a little more until Louis pulled him out of the truck. He told Harry where to stand and handed him the boombox, pressing play before scampering away from there to hide behind a tree. The song was loud and sure to get the attention of a few neighbours. Louis found himself humming along to the song, singing a few lines, and almost wishing that Harry was facing him. That he was doing this for _him_.

Then Stacy came to her window, a big smile spreading across her face, and Louis got another hit of reality. This wasn’t for him, but rather his doing. This was his love of matchmaking, pushing Harry toward another, only so that he could get over his own feelings. As Stacy came rushing out the front door to greet Harry, Louis watched from his spot while they spoke. They were laughing, blushing, and looking like a good pair together.

And Louis -- Louis hated it. That lovely feeling he got from bringing people together wasn’t there this time. All he felt was regret, resent, and heartbreak. He turned away from the scene in front of him and wondered what he should do. He didn’t want Stacy to see him there so Louis started to walk away. He walked and walked until he made it home, going upstairs to his bedroom where he shut himself in and wondered why all the fairytale endings he tried to give other people couldn’t happen for him.

☊

The following day, Louis was home alone and moping. He was ignoring everything, like the phone that kept ringing, his impending homework, and generally anything that didn’t have to do with him pitying himself. All he could think about was Harry and Stacy becoming the next big couple thanks to Louis. All he could see was the two of them united in an epic recreation of one of Louis’ favorite movie scenes of all time. He hated himself for giving it to them. For not thinking it through and ruining it for himself.

At some point in the afternoon, after Louis finished a whole pizza pie by himself, there was a knock at the door followed by the bell ringing. Louis stood up, reluctant and tired, and opened the front door to see Harry. He was holding Dan’s trench coat and the boombox. “Hey,” Harry said, a small smile on his face, “I’ve been calling your house all day.”

“Oh, sorry,” Louis said, trying to appear light and unconcerned, “Didn’t notice.”

“That’s okay. Can I come in?”

Louis nodded and opened the door wider for Harry to walk inside. He took off his ugly Doc Martens and followed Louis to the living room where Louis burrowed himself underneath the cocoon of three blankets he’d formed for himself even though the heater was on. Harry stood there awkwardly, still holding all of his things.

“I came to return these,” Harry said.

“Thank you,” Louis replied.

Harry gave him a soft frown, more confused than angry, and set everything down on the other couch before taking a seat on the chair beside Louis. “What’s going on? You seem a bit off.”

“I’m not,” Louis quickly denied, “I’m fine. How was your night?”

“It was alright,” Harry said. “Stacy and I had a pretty good laugh about the whole thing.”

Great. So everything went according to plan. Louis wanted to be _sick_. He was going to vomit all of that pizza and scream. He didn’t realize he was making a face until he saw Harry gaping at him. “What?” Louis asked. His tone had an aggressive tone to it which made Harry frown a little more.

“Lou, what is your deal? Did I do something?”

“No, you didn’t. I just...didn’t like that yesterday,” he answered. God, he sounded so stupid and weird. He couldn’t even properly explain himself.

“What didn’t you like? I’m so confused.”

Louis groaned, feeling childish and petulant. “I didn’t like you and Stacy getting together.”

“What -- what do you mean?” Harry sputtered. “One, Stacy and I aren’t even together. Two, you were the one who wanted me to be with her.”

“I made a mistake,” Louis said. “I mean, since you like her, maybe it wasn’t a mistake for you. But I just hated it.”

“For the last time, I never said I liked her. I said she was cute and you took it as me liking her. There’s a difference,” Harry retorted. “You literally pushed me to do everything. I didn’t even want to get out of the car, Louis. I’m not with her, either. I told her that much last night when you left me there.”

“You told her you didn’t like her?” Louis sat up, letting the blankets pool around his waist.

“Yes, because I don’t.”

“I just thought that --”

“You thought what, Lou?” Harry asked him, glaring. “You thought you could push someone on me just to make yourself feel good about your matchmaking. I never explicitly told you how I felt. And now you’re giving me an attitude, talking about how you didn’t like what happened as if it was my fault.”

“I’m sorry,” Louis said quietly, “Harry, I really am. I pushed you because -- because I like you. I like you a lot.”

Louis was the type of person who liked grand gestures, especially during a declaration of romantic feelings. This didn’t feel like one at all. This felt all kinds of wrong and boring. What he wanted to do was write poetry about Harry so that he could recite it to him, letting him know how wonderful he really was. Louis wanted to talk about how Harry made him laugh and smile for no reason at all. He wanted to tell him how much he liked his long, dirty hair -- every single strand. He wanted to write about how he couldn’t look at anything or do anything anymore without thinking of him, even for a little bit.

Harry watched Louis and his face was unreadable. “You like me?”

Louis nodded shakily. “Yeah. And I just didn’t know what to do because you like girls. I knew I needed to move on.”

“You could have asked me instead of making me do something I wasn’t entirely willing to do and then get mad at me,” Harry replied slowly. “You could have also known that I like you, too. A lot.”

Hope filled Louis, spreading all the way to his fingertips like electric magic. “Wait, you like me, too?”

“Yeah. I’ve liked you since freshman year of high school,” Harry said, “Except I don’t know about right this instant.”

“What?” Louis whispered, feeling his hope deflate.

“You’re extremely meddlesome, Louis. And you weren’t honest. I don’t know if I can handle that. I’ve liked you for a really long time and what just happened -- I didn’t like that at all.”

“I’m sorry,” Louis said again, eyes wide. “I was just scared.”

“That’s not an excuse,” Harry shook his head. He stood up, walking over to the door. “I need to go. But I’ll see you around.”

Louis wanted to say more. He wanted to ask Harry to wait so that they could talk and work things out, but he couldn’t say anything. He just watched Harry put on his boots and walk out.

☊

Louis knew he fucked up and he knew he had to fix it. In fact, he was glad Harry called him out because after that, he took a step back and evaluated everything. Being short with Harry wasn’t right, especially after making him go through that whole thing with Stacy. That was probably the worst of it all. Louis also couldn’t be as impulsive with his matchmaking as he had been the past few weeks. It made sense now why they were all turning out for the worse.

Now, Louis was willing to take a break from all that, but he was going to matchmake one more time. This time it was him and Harry.

He made a trip to the store to buy a couple of blank CDs. Then he spent all weekend putting together a string of songs that reminded him of Harry. A mix CD would be the perfect gesture, since Harry was always glued to his discman and loved music. Louis even worked on the CD case, writing the tracklist on the back, and then a note on the front.

_Harry, I’m so sorry for everything I did._

_I made this mix CD to tell you how I feel because I don’t think it was good enough when I told you the other day._

_At some point, just a few weeks ago, I had hated you. I hated the way you talked to me and your dumb, long hair. I hated the way you drove around town in your yellow pick up truck and the way you would look at me, like something was something funny and I could never understand. I hated your big Doc Martens and the way you always played along with my stupid lies. I hated you so much, it made me sick, angry, and so frustrated._

_But mostly, I hate that now I don’t hate any of these things. Not even a little bit, not even at all._

_In fact, I like them. And I like you. I like the sound of your voice and saying your name. I like your green eyes and endless flannels. I like the way you support me and have my back. I like the way you make me laugh and the way you make me smile. I like that nothing else in the universe makes me feel the way I feel about you._

_I hope you like the mix CD._

_Yours sincerely, Louis_

☊

On Monday, Louis placed the mix CD on Harry’s side of the desk in Biology. When Harry walked in, he didn’t say anything to Louis, but he stared at the mix CD for a moment and then put it in his backpack.

☊

Tuesday, the weather was warm for the first time in months. Winter was finally ending and Spring was upon them. The sun was bright and everyone was hanging out on the football field. Louis took a spot for himself and sat there, wondering if he should work on his English assignment or math questions. He knew neither were going to get done though, because he was still thinking about Harry and the radio silence on his end.

Yes, it had only been a day and Harry needed to hear the CD and read the note properly before he could do anything, but still. Louis was an impatient person and his heart was on the line. Looking for a distraction, he pulled his books out, getting to work, but then he needed a distraction from that distraction so he looked up, observing those around him. The bell was going to ring soon, so everyone was headed back inside, but Louis had a free period and wasn’t in a rush.

Amongst the crowd of students walking back to school, someone else was walking toward the football field. He was tall, wearing a red and black flannel, and had a square silver case in his hand while holding his black book bag with the other. Louis sat up straight when he realized it was Harry. His stomach felt like it was going to drop and he felt the need to run away from nerves. But before he could, Harry had already approached him. They were silent for a few moments, just looking at each other.

And then, “Did you really put ‘Eternal Flame’ by The Bangles on this?” Harry asked, holding out the CD.

Louis almost laughed, but he held it together. “It’s...it’s our song.”

A smile broke out on Harry’s face and then they really were laughing. Harry extended his hand forward, helping Louis up on his feet. Once he was up, they stared at each other again, smiling and giddy under the sun. Like magnets, they slowly inched closer together. “No one’s ever made me a mix CD before,” Harry said, cupping Louis’ face in his hands.

“Did you like it?” Louis wondered aloud.

Harry leaned forward, brushing his nose against Louis’. “I loved it,” he said before capturing Louis’ lips with his. His lips tasted sweet and Louis was eager, placing his hands on Harry’s shoulder to steady himself. The kiss deepened in the most tender way until they pulled apart, but Louis kept kissing Harry. On his cheek, his chin, and his nose. Harry laughed, breathily, while holding Louis close. “Your note was sweet, too.”

“Told you I’m cupid,” Louis giggled. “I’m a very romantic person.”

“I think this is my favorite matchmaking you’ve done,” Harry admitted.

“I think it’s mine, too.”

“Do you want to head out? We can hang out in my truck and continue this.” Harry’s expression was suggestive, making Louis’ toes curl. He nodded his head and bent down to gather his books. Harry helped him put everything back in his book bag. After shouldering his own bag, Harry took Louis’ free hand and entwined their fingers, leading him toward the car.

Cue “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! lemme know what you thought x


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